American Lung Association of Connecticut Releases Report That Supports Continuation of Emissions Testing To Provide Cleaner Air.

Business/Health/Environmental Writers

HARTFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 21, 2001

97% of Connecticut's citizens breathe air that is considered seriously unhealthy by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Today, the American Lung Association of Connecticut released the results of a comprehensive report on the impacts of the state's vehicle emissions testing program calling the current program essential to ensuring clean air and public health in Connecticut.

Since Connecticut does not meet the ozone health standard, the state is federally mandated under the Clean Air Act to regulate pollutants causing ground-level ozone, commonly known as smog. Ground-level ozone is formed when oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) mix with sunlight to form hazardous air pollution that can significantly reduce lung function, increase asthma attacks, and cause premature death.

The emissions testing program, formally known as Inspection and Maintenance (I/M), tests 1.2 million cars in Connecticut each year to ensure proper emission controls and proper maintenance. Vehicle emissions contribute over one-third of Connecticut's ozone pollution and over half of the state's toxic air emissions.

The report shows that the emissions testing program will eliminate approximately 50,000 tons of smog forming pollutants from Connecticut's air in 2002 alone, omitting 23% of the NOx and 30% of the VOCs that would otherwise enter Connecticut's air. The NOx savings alone is over three times more than will be removed from all of Connecticut's big power plants under the State's recently adopted rules for those facilities. The reduction of approximately 50,000 tons of smog-forming pollutants is also the clean air equivalent of taking almost half of Connecticut's cars, 1.2 million vehicles, off the road.

In addition, the program eliminates 233 tons, or 23% of the toxic compounds that would otherwise enter Connecticut's air. The toxic pollutants, cancer causing compounds with potential health effects such as cancer, birth defects, developmental delays and reduced immunity, pose the greatest threat to public health.

"Asthma rates in Connecticut are over two-and-a-half times the national average," stated Michelle M. Cloutier, MD, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Lung Association of Connecticut. "The emissions testing program is a critical public health insurance policy and is essential to controlling the alarming increases in asthma rates in this state."

In the absence of the emission testing program, Connecticut will not be able to meet the required 2007 standards for both VOCs and NOx mandated under the Clean Air Act. Reductions in emissions from mobile sources will continue to be of critical importance to the state in attempts to meet the federally required standards for ozone causing pollutants. Failure to meet the Clean Air Act requirements would result in withholding of federal highway funds amounting to $250 million to $350 million each year.

Thomas Godar, MD, Board Member of the American Lung Association of Connecticut and leading expert in clean air issues stated, "The American Lung Association of Connecticut has determined that Connecticut's emission testing program results in the elimination of more than 50,000 tons of ozone forming pollutants every year. This is an extraordinary reduction in emission levels, and one that has a tangible impact on the health and well being of Connecticut's citizenry. In addition, these reductions have been achieved through a program that is cost effective, and far less intrusive than any comparable program."

The emission testing program is one of the most cost-effective forms of smog fighting available -- costing about $500 per ton of emissions removed. Current NOx emission reduction programs, from stationary sources for example, cost between $2,000 - $15,000 per ton.

According to Connecticut's Department of Public Health, 87,000 children in Connecticut have asthma. Each year, there are about 1,400 hospital admissions and 6,000 emergency room visits for children less than 15 years of age with asthma. There are more than 600,000 children in Connecticut at risk of sickness due to poor air quality. This is in addition to the 175,000 people who suffer from asthma and the more than 400 deaths that occur in Connecticut each year as a result of unclean air.

American Lung Association of Connecticut announced today that our organization is in the process of forming a public-private Alliance whose mission will be to support mobile source reductions as a means to forward clean air and public health. The Association is currently enlisting partners to join the Alliance, which is expected to initiate an outreach effort next month.

The report shows that emission testing has made a significant positive impact in efforts to provide Connecticut residents with clean air. The American Lung Association of Connecticut continues to be committed to using its voice and its resources to communicate the importance of continuing this program to Connecticut's citizens.